Bark River-Harris Ends MHSAA Title Wait
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 29, 2014
ESCANABA — After nearly 40 years of trying, Bark River-Harris finally has an Upper Peninsula girls golf championship to call its own.
The Broncos captured their first Division 3 title on a sunny and mild Thursday with 415 strokes. They were followed by Crystal Fall Forest Park with 441 and Ontonagon at 464.
“I thought this was going to be very tight,” said BR-H coach Scott Farnsworth. “Forest Park has four seniors and a very strong program. I honestly thought it would be within a few strokes.”
BR-H senior Savana Stenberg also was crowned individual champion for the first time, edging DeTour freshman Madison Wilkie on a tie-breaker.
Nerves were evident as both girls needed five strokes to complete the playoff hole, with each missing a three-foot putt before finding the bottom of the cup.
During the playoff, Wilkie inadvertently picked up the ball while it was lying on the fringe. After the hole was done, Stenberg was declared the winner following a brief meeting of the coaches involved and course officials.
“Yes, I did touch it,” Wilkie acknowledged. “I just kind of forgot myself at the moment.”
The girls set themselves up with strong tee shots that landed about halfway down and on the left side of the fairway, followed by solid approach shots.
“I think we should have played another hole,” Stenberg said. “On the course, I wasn’t nervous. But the playoff hole was nerve-wracking. I tried to think I was by myself. I usually tell myself I have to do well. But it seemed like I couldn’t play at all today. My putting was way off.
“It’s just a relief to get this meet in and come out on top. This is also kind of sad because it’s my last high school meet, although I’ll be playing in a junior league this summer.”
Both girls recorded a 91 through the 18 regulation holes, setting the stage for the playoff.
“I didn’t think I’d do very good because I four-putted the first hole,“ Wilkie said. “I just had to forget about it. We still had 17 more holes. I did well on the par-5s. My drives were pretty good, but my approach shots worked the best. This was definitely a learning experience.”
BR-H sophomore Hannah Starnes placed third with 94, followed by Mid Peninsula junior Hunter Branstrom at 95 and Cedarville sophomore Anna Eberts at 97.
“I was real nervous on the front nine, but played my game on the back nine,” Starnes said. “I calmed down once we got to the back nine. I didn’t overthink anything and established a rhythm.”
The Broncos were runners-up and Stenberg placed third at the 2013 Final at Highland Golf Club in nearby Hyde.
“Winning this meet was our goal all year,” Farnsworth said. “With the talent we had, I thought we could get there. These girls are hard workers. They deserve this because they’ve put the time and effort into it.”
Forest Park was led by Anne Taylor with 107 strokes, followed by Toni Santi at 109.
“All the girls played well,” Forest Park coach Harold Payne said. “We played for only three weeks this year because of the (unseasonably cold) weather.
“This is a great group of girls. We’re senior-dominated, although our sophomore had the lowest score. Among our six golfers, we’re losing four good seniors. Each year you’re dealt a new hand, which makes it exciting. The challenge is keeping kids interested and hopefully pick up a few more.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Savanna Stenberg of Bark River-Harris chips out of a hazard and onto the No. 10 green Thursday during the Upper Peninsula Division 3 Final at Escanaba Country Club. (Middle) Hunter Branstrom of Rock Mid Peninsula sends a shot from the No. 1 fairway. (Photos by Keith Shelton.)
Sparked Early by Record Round, Griswold Caps Championship-Filled Season with Finals Win
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
October 22, 2026
PORTAGE — Olivia Griswold had never carded an under-par tournament round of golf before this season.
But when she accomplished the feat for the first time – Aug. 24 at the Battle Creek Lakeview Invitational – Griswold not only set a course record but used it to kickstart her path to winning the medalist honor at this past weekend’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final.
The 17-year-old Portage Central senior shot a 9-under-par 63 to win the Lakeview Invite, setting a course record at Cedar Creek Golf Club in Battle Creek. She carded eight birdies and an eagle.
“That gave me a lot of confidence going into the rest of the year,” Griswold said. “I hadn’t ever shot under par in a tournament until that day, so going straight to 9-under was pretty cool.
“Last year and the two years before that, I would always approach Regionals and state Finals differently than I did this year. I’d approach it timid and afraid and intimidated by everybody else. I didn’t believe I was good enough to go out and do a good thing.”
Under-par scores became the definition of this year for Griswold, who is headed to Western Michigan University to continue her golf career and major in biomedical sciences, on a path to becoming a medical doctor.
“I am very excited to represent my hometown, the place I grew up in,” she said. “I’m super excited to be part of their program. I feel like I align really well with a lot of their values and goals.”
Griswold led the Mustangs to their third straight Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference. Individually she is a two-time SMAC champ.
“We’ve seen how hard she works and all the hours she’s put in, and it’s honestly inspiring,” senior teammate Seneli Amaratunga said. “She’s such a great person and such a good captain.
“It’s very motivating to know we can rely on someone like her, especially because Olivia’s very consistent and how good she plays.”
The next step in Griswold’s championship journey this fall was Central hosting the Regional at Milham Golf Course in Kalamazoo, where her team finally broke a championship drought that covered at least 15 years.
Once again, Griswold added the medalist honor.
“We won by 17 but were up by 25 at one point,” Mustangs coach Tony Ely said. “That was a little less stressful than my normal day on the golf course with the women.”
Central felt at home at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley, the Division 1 Final host, after playing there three times this season.
“I played there many, many times, probably more tournament golf there than any other course,” Griswold said. “I felt very confident.”
Her warmup for the Finals was winning the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) junior tournament the week before at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West.
“This kid is the first I’ve seen that sought out to play the toughest competition, and it shows,” Ely said. “You can’t teach that mental side.”
Rain did not put a damper on the Mustangs during the first day of the Final.
“Looking back, it was really calm in the van Friday morning,” Ely said. “The weather was crap, it was state Finals, we were coming off a Regional title. I was pretty juiced up but the kids were calm, cool and collected.”
Ely bounced around to all his golfers during play, checking to see how each was doing.
“There’s like there’s six of me on the golf course,” he laughed. “I want them to know I’m there for them. Whether it helps or not, in my mind, if I don’t do that, I go home feeling like I didn’t do everything I could have.”
One bonus after Friday’s round was traveling back home to Portage.
“We were soaking wet, so it was nice to shower in our own shower, go to bed in our own bed,” Amaratunga said. “It was a nice reset for the next day.”
Griswold said playing in the rain takes a “mental reset” but there was an “oops” moment for her on the 13th hole.
“I hit a shank because the club slipped in my hands,” she said. “Instead of letting that get to me, I kept to my game and stayed focused.”
Her 67 on Friday tied the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals record for 18 holes carded by Shannon Warner in 2006 at Forest Akers East.
“It’s really special and makes me feel really proud of myself for the work I was willing to put in this year,” Griswold said. “Since late March when basketball season ended, I practiced pretty much every single day. Having that score and having that record feels like all of that pays off.”
Not lost among Griswold’s accomplishments was Portage Central finishing third behind Northville and Macomb Dakota in the team standings.
“Coming out third is incredible because I remember my freshman year, we didn’t even make it to states,” Amaratunga said.” We’ve seen our progress through the last four years, and I’m so proud of the team and how far we’ve come.”
The Mustangs finished sixth the previous two seasons.
Ely said the team was leading heading into the final two holes Saturday, but “my kids got stuck on the two hardest holes and we ended up going down by eight. I didn’t care. The message was sent that we were playing with Northville.”
For Griswold, the 13th hole caused another blip the second day.
“She got to 13 and my heart sank when I saw her down there on the same shot she had on Friday,” Ely said. “She didn’t hit a great second shot from that same position, and I was like, really? We’re going to the exact same spot, and the exact same result happened. She shanked the ball again on Saturday.”
Griswold added, “It was the exact same spot I lost my club. I think it might have been in the back of my mind.”
With her high school golf career ended, the 6-foot-1 senior is preparing for basketball season having earned all-SMAC honors the last three years.
Amaratunga decided not to play winter or spring sports, but said the lessons she learned through golf will stay with her long after graduation.
“I like how tough golf is as far as my mental strength,” she said, “because I feel all the life lessons I’ve learned from golf I can apply to my everyday life, like my patience and resilience. I can use it now in my everyday things.”
Ely said with three seniors in the lineup – including also Matilda Beck – plus junior Elizabeth Rush and sophomore Jordan Jackson, the end of the season was emotional.
“This has been a special group,” he said. “I was emotional when Olivia came off the golf course. I was emotional when each of the girls came off the golf course.
"You just put a lot of time and effort and more importantly emotional stuff into these kids, and to see them succeed is like seeing your own kids out there succeeding.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Olivia Griswold follows her shot during Saturday’s second round at Bedford Valley. (Middle) Griswold holds up her championship sign with one hand and a pin flag with the other. (Below) The Mustangs pose for a photo, with Paige Dobbs in the front row, in the second row (from left) Elizabeth Rush, Kaiya Bouschor and Seneli Amaratunga, in the third row (from left) Jordan Jackson, Matilda Beck and Griswold, and coach Tony Ely at the top. (Action photo by High School Sports Scene. Photo with sign and team photo by Jim Cottrell.)